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Meghan's friends claim she was 'used' by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's series The Gentlemen

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Cite

Howe, M. (2026, October 18). Meghan's friends claim she was 'used' by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's series The Gentlemen. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/meghan-markle-netflix-the-gentleman-acting-duchess-sussex-b1301336.html

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Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-18 · by Megan Howe

Quick Summary

Meghan Markle’s friends claim she was used to help promote the second season of Guy Ritchie's Netflix series The Gentlemen, despite initial discussions not materializing into a casting agreement due to public scrutiny. Sources close to Meghan and Prince Harry suggest that interest in her joining the show was primarily for publicity purposes, given the lower ratings for season two compared to the first. This alleged use has left a bad taste among those close to the Sussexes, who feel it was a marketing tactic to boost viewership figures and media coverage for the show’s second season.
Written by AI on 2026-10-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Meghan Markle was reportedly "used" by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's crime drama series The Gentlemen, after discussions for her to join the cast fell through. Friends of Meghan claim that she was leveraged to boost interest in season two, which they felt wasn't as strong as the first and had already secured a third season. This alleged marketing tactic involved leaking that negotiations were advanced without substantial progress, aiming to generate buzz and increase viewership figures for the series. The speculation about her potential role resurfaced over the summer when Deadline reported on it, but no concrete deal was reached amid public scrutiny regarding her return to acting. Meghan's involvement in such marketing ploys left a "sour taste" among those close to her, according to sources.

Written for “Meghan Used By NetflixCr Claims” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Meghan Used By NetflixCr Claims
Entertainment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Prince Harry and Meghan's joint appearance in Nottingham, while Article B discusses their return to the UK and related activities, but does not focus on a single specific joint public appearance.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different topics related to Meghan Markle but do not describe the same specific incident.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 4 of 82 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles mention the visit of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Nottingham in October 2026, they focus on different aspects — Article A discusses their joint appearance and return to the UK, while Article B mentions it as part of a broader discussion about Meghan's business ventures.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 28 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles mention Harry and Meghan's recent visit to Nottingham, they focus on different aspects of their activities and do not describe the exact same incident or time.”
The Independent
Hedges 2 of 22 claims Outlet record 59/100
“Article A describes Prince Harry and Meghan's joint appearances at charities in Nottingham, while Article B discusses broader activities and ventures pursued by Meghan after moving to California.”
Fox News
Hedges 6 of 56 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Harry and Meghan's activities without clearly referring to the same specific incident or time.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's first official joint appearance in Nottingham on a specific date, while Article B discusses their general activities and recent return to the UK without specifying this particular event.”
Euronews
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles cover different aspects of Harry and Meghan's return to UK activities; Article A describes a specific visit to Nottingham, while Article B discusses their broader return to public engagements in the context of recent business ventures.”
Global News
Hedges 2 of 22 claims Outlet record 63/100
“Article A describes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first joint appearance after returning to England, while Article B discusses their business ventures and a vague reference to recent public engagements without specifying the same event.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8411 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Megan Howe
118 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Megan Howe
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 118 articles by Megan Howe →

Topics

America California Netflix Nottingham Spotify

Subjects

Meghan PERSON · 4× Netflix ORG · 3× America GPE · 1× California GPE · 1× Guy Ritchie’s PERSON · 1× Harry PERSON · 1× Nottingham GPE · 1× Spotify ORG · 1× Sussex GPE · 1× The Telegraph ORG · 1×

Narrative

Since establishing a permanent family home in California, Meghan has pursued a string of business and philanthropic ventures, including launching her lifestyle brand As Ever, hosting a Spotify podcast and publishing a children’s book, The Bench.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 Their return follows speculation in August that Meghan could be preparing to revive her acting career, with reports suggesting she was in “advanced talks” to join the cast of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix crime drama The Gentlemen for its third season. However, those discussions are understood to have fallen through amid intense public scrutiny surrounding the possibility of the Duchess returning to the screen.

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

The 45-year-old lived in America for the past six years after she and Harry dramatically stepped back from their roles as senior working royals in January 2020. asserted
she → live → January
Since establishing a permanent family home in California, Meghan has pursued a string of business and philanthropic ventures, including launching her lifestyle brand As Ever, hosting a Spotify podcast and publishing a children’s book, The Bench. asserted
Meghan → establish → book
In recent weeks, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made a surprising return to the UK with their two children, carrying out their first public engagement in Nottingham last week since arriving back in the UK. asserted
Duke → make → UK
Their return follows speculation in August that Meghan could be preparing to revive her acting career, with reports suggesting she was in “advanced talks” to join the cast of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix crime drama The Gentlemen for its third season. However, those discussions are understood to have fallen through amid intense public scrutiny surrounding the possibility of the Duchess returning to the screen. uncertain
Duchess → follow → screen
A source close to the couple told The Telegraph: “Some people in her camp feel she was used to help promote season two, because they knew it wasn’t as good as the first season and had already commissioned a third.” asserted
it → tell → third
They continued: “It’s the oldest marketing trick in the book: get a big name to read a script, then leak that you’re ‘in conversation’ with them when, in reality, nothing is particularly far along. asserted
nothing → continue → reality
Read More “The whole thing left a bit of a sour taste in the Sussex camp’s mouth. asserted
thing → read → mouth
Needless to say, Netflix got what it wanted: huge viewing figures for season two and a lot of publicity.” asserted
it → say → publicity
The couple have already faced issues with security following their return to the UK, after Meghan’s personal phone number was leaked in a parent’s WhatsApp group. asserted
number → face → group
The couple carried out their first official public outing since returning to the UK on Thursday. asserted
couple → carry → Thursday
Well-wishers, predominantly under the age of 30, cheered, presented flowers, and requested selfies. asserted
wishers → cheer → selfies
One woman shouted, "We love you, Duchess Meghan," and others gave her big hugs upon arrival. asserted
others → shout → arrival
Netflix has been contacted by The Standard for comment. asserted
Netflix → contact → comment
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